"In this extremely dangerous situation, the sides must not permit a further escalation of tensions, and should demonstrate restraint and calm," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
At least 69 Israeli soldiers were injured, some seriously, when a Qassam rocket launched by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip exploded in the center of the Zikim training base, located not far from the border with the Hamas-controlled enclave, as soldiers slept.
The ministry expressed Russia's concern that Palestinian rocket fire into Israel will be met with military reprisals against Gaza and raids into the West Bank, with attendant civilian casualties.
According to the ministry, it was particularly regrettable that "this latest incident occurred just hours after the meeting in Jerusalem between the head of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert," which sought to normalize the situation on the ground and prepare for a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in November.
In responding to the attack, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that Israel's response would not necessarily be military in nature.
While she did not specify what in particular Israel would do short of a military incursion, a high-level Security Cabinet meeting last week unanimously endorsed a proposal to cut-off electricity, fuel and water supplies to the Hamas-controlled territory if the firing continued.
The attack has been the most destructive by a single rocket on Israeli territory from Gaza, responsibility for which was claimed by the Palestinian groups the Popular Resistance Committee and Islamic Jihad, local media reported.
Although Hamas did not participate in the attack, it congratulated the Palestinian people on a "Victory from God."
"Of course, we welcome the attack. We consider it a worthy answer to the crimes of the occupants," said a Hamas spokesman. A spokesman for Islamic Jihad said: "The jihad continues - we have one language, the language of guns and rockets."
Speaking at a news conference with Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, Livni pointedly blamed Hamas, despite its non-involvement.
"It doesn't matter who took responsibility for the attack," Livni said at the end of a press conference with Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado. "What matters is that Hamas could stop the attacks, and they don't."
In Israel, ground forces attacked the area from where the rocket was launched, injuring four Palestinian civilians, and a special Security Cabinet Tuesday met to consider a wider response, local radio reported.
